Nomadland wins Venice, and we recap all the fall film festival buzz. Then we dive into a serious and heated discussion on the well intentioned, but underwhelming new Academy standards for representation and inclusion. Obviously, they didn’t go far enough. Did they go far at all?

Mike1’s Back! - Top of Show

VENICE FILM FESTIVAL WINNERS + RESULTS:

Setting The Scene - 1:55

The Disciple Wins Best Screenplay - 3:56

(+ NYFF Talk)

Vanessa Kirby is Best Actress; Home Team Wins Actor - 5:54

Wife of a Spy Carries Best Director - 8:52

Silver Lion Winner - 10:23

NOMADLAND WINS THE GOLDEN LION - 10:51

First Teaser Review - 11:57

VENICE FILMS WITH BUZZ:

One Night in Miami - 15:13

The World to Come - 17:33

Never Gonna Snow Again - 19:10

OTHER FILM FESTIVAL WINNERS/LOSERS:

Halle Berry’s Bruised - 20:00

What’s Happening to Ammonite? - 20:50

Gia Coppola’s Mainstream - 23:27

ACADEMY ANNOUNCES NEW REPRESENTATION AND INCLUSION STANDARDS:

When They Take Effect - 26:04

Not Going Nearly Far Enough - 27:23

Well Intentioned, P.1 - 32:37

Standard A + Discussion - 36:17

Standard B + Discussion - 39:32

An All Too Important Discussion Follows Here

Standard C + Discussion (And Why It’s Different) - 53:18

Standard D + Discussion - 57:49

Socials/Your Homework - 1:01:11

What’s Next From MMO/Words of Wisdom - 1:01:53

Mike 1 is back for our latest episode of Oscar Race Checkpoint, recapping the Venice Film Festival awards, updating you on all the buzz from the fall festivals, and of course, where we have to dive into these new Academy standards for Best Picture eligibility.

Nomadland won the Golden Lion at the 77th Venice Film Festival with Vanessa Kirby taking home a Volpi Cup for Best Actress from Pieces of a Woman. So we discuss all the buzz coming out of Venice, some early talk from Toronto, and our expectations heading into New York. Plus, we discuss some early beneficiaries and some way too early casualties from these fall film festivals.

Then as we continue to hope & pray & advocate for more representation, inclusion, and equality in the film industry, we analyze the new Academy standards for Best Picture eligibility. Now of course, they don’t go far enough. But with all of the obvious legal loopholes, we wonder if they go far at all.

It’s an important, heated discussion on each of the 4 standards, and all their (optional?) criteria. Yes, the standards may be well intentioned, but what happens when they’re executed? When we compare them to similar standards in other industries, there are clear and present dangers.

As always, we want to hear your thoughts. We’re at MMandOscar on Twitter, and we are on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail. You can subscribe / rate / review / like / share / & hear us on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify, and just about wherever you might listen. We’re Mike, Mike, & Oscar, and we’re making awards season year round, without the stuffiness. Thanks for clicking play.